Bearing with seal



P- w BEARING WITH SEAL Dec. 22 1 v 2 Sheets-s 1 Original Filed April 11, 1966 INVENTOR 7 Dec. 22, 1 970 P. w. LEAK I 3,549,221

BEARING WITH SEAL Original Filed April 11. 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F U INVENIUR. Q

PAUL W- LEAK United States Patent 3,549,221 BEARING WITH SEAL Paul W. Leak, Simsbury, Conn., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Industriewerk Schaeiiler OHG, Herzogenaurach, Germany, a partnership Application Feb. 4, 1969, Ser. No. 798,261, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 541,838, Apr. 11, 1966. Divided and this application Dec. 2, 1969, Ser.

Int. Cl. F16c 33/78 US. Cl. 308187.2 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a needle roller bearing having an outer shell with integral radially inward flanges and a cage for retaining the needle rollers. A seal having a body of elastomeric material and a hardened retaining insert united to said seal is positioned abutting the inner face of the flange, the insert being resiliently spaced from the shell by the elastomeric material.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 798,261, filed Feb. 4, 1969; which application is a continuation of my prior application Ser. No. 541,838, filed Apr. 11, 1966, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a bearing having a seal and primarily relates to a needle roller bearing.

More specifically, this invention relates to a bearing seal having means to retain or locate the cage or rollers of a needle roller bearing while providing an eflicient seal.

Briefly, this invention comprises a needle roller bearing or other bearing having an outer shell or race with or without a cage to retain the rollers in position, The ends of the outer race are turned inwardly to provide a flange. Between the flange and the cage, a rubber seal is positioned having a bonded-in-place metal insert which is closely adjacent to and retains the ends of the rollers. When a cage is employed for needle rollers the insert acts as a retainer for the cage which in turn retains the rollers.

Prior art bearings utilizing seals touching the outer race flange are known.

In the preferred form of the invention the insert is made of a metal but other low friction, hard, surfaces may be employed.

An object of this invention is to provide an integral sealed needle bearing which keeps dirt out and the lubricant in.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cage retention device and seal which can be assembled with an interference fit into the bearing without scoring the race by virtue of the rubber contact.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cage retainer and seal which does not expand or produce un desired forces against the outer shell.

Still another object is to provide a thick cushion in the seal to absorb thrust due to misalignment or due to other facts which tend to skew the rollers.

Yet another object is to provide a sealed needle bearing in which desired tolerances can be more easily achieved and maintained.

Another object is to permit easy entry assembly of shaft into bearing without damage to the seal lip.

A further object is to have a simple retainer-seal in a bearing.

A object of this invention is to make a bearing with a seal having the foregoing characteristics.

The above mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will best be understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the needle roller bearing having an integral retainer seal in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of one form of seal and insert;

FIG. 2A is a modification of the embodiment of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2B is another modification of the embodiment of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of this invention in which a cage is absent;

FIG. 3A is an alternate embodiment of FIG. 3 illustrating a different type of bearing roller in connection with the retainer-seal;

FIGS. 4 and 4A illustrate different forms of the integral retainer seal; and

FIG. 5 is a section diagram of the outer shell during the preliminary stages of the assembly.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a shell 1 and needle rollers 2 retained within a cage 3. Seal 4 is positioned against the flanges 5 and closely adjacent to the cage. In FIG. 2, the seal is shown as comprising a rubber body 7 having a recess 8 in which a hardened insert 9v is bonded or otherwise fixed in position. It will be noted that the entire resilient surface of the seal, and particularly that area above insert 9, is formed of resilient material which bears against the outer shell. The bottom of the seal is shaped as to provide a flexible lip such as the ball shaped address 11 of FIG. 2.

The insert is made of hard material, preferably steel, and presents the riding surface for the bearing. It may have a hard low friction surface above 40 Rockwell C scale, and preferably about 50. If the hardness is below the stated 40 Rockwell, the material will Wear fast causing premature bearing failure.

A particular advantage of the ball 11 is that when the needle bearing assembled with seals is mounted on a shaft, the seal lip, ball 11 in this case, will slide easily over the shaft without tucking backwards as might occur with a sharp cornered seal lip.

In FIG. 2A, the address 11A has a curved semi-circular lower surface, but the upper extending region has been reduced to provide greater flexibility. In this embodiment, it will be clear that the entire address pivots or is cammed upwardly when a cage or other means is inserted.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2B, the address 11 has an angled undersurface, but still when the outermost section 12 receives a cage or other means, the entire address is cammed upwardly.

One of the advantages of this invention is derived from the ease of manufacture. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the outer cage is stamped initially with only a single flange and a seal of the type shown in FIG. 2 or any other embodiment is pressed all the way in to abut the flange. Thereafter, the cage and/or needle assembly are placed into the shell and an additional seal is placed at the other end and the flange is then turned inwardly. Lubricants may be added at those stages which are believed desirable, as those skilled in the art will recognize.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 3A, the hardened insert retainer 9A is substantially L-shaped and the horizontal arm .guides a dumbbell type roller 20 of FIG. 3 or a conical shaped roller 21 of FIG. 3A. In each case, the roller end may contact the horizontal arm, and may even ride against or be retained by the vertical leg of the insert. All vibrations, shocks and the like are cushioned by the elastic material and the shell isltept resiliently spaced'fronithehardefied'insertl' In FIG. 4, the insert retainer 90 is similar to that of .FIG. 3, but here. the horizontal arm supports the cage 3.

The cage thus pilots on the insertand the shell is kept resiliently spaced. In FIG. 4A, the retainer is'positioned to present the horizontal arm above the cage, but thecage bearings can be made with only one seal.

While the principles of the invention have been described in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be a way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of the invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A needle roller bearing comprising an outer shell having an integral radially inward flange at one end, said flange and said shell being of equal cross section, a cage for retaining a plurality of needle rollers, a seal having a body of elastomeric material carried by the bore of said shell and abutting the inner face of said flange, a hardened cage retaining insert united to said seal to present a flat riding surface, said elastomeric material supporting said insert on its radially outer and inner surfaces, said seal having an interference fit within said shell and said insert being in radial-clearance relation with said shell, and said cage being positioned by the said seal and said seal retaining means of said shell, said elastomeric material being of greater cross section than said insert and providing a thick cushion to thereby absorb misalignment forces.

2. The bearing of claim 1 in which the insert is formed of metal.

3. The bearing of claim 1 in which the insert is formed of a hardened low friction material.

4. The bearing of claim 1 in which the seal body has a yieldable deflectable address at its lower end opposite said insert.

5. The bearing of claim 4 where the deflectable section provides a curvilinear-shaped address.

6. The 'bearing ofclaim 5 where the deflectable section has a relieved upper surface to provide greater yieldability.

A bearing Comprising an Ou r hellhavin n in r first axial location on said shell, a seal having an annular body of elastomeric material carried by the bore of said shell and abutting the inner face of said flange, a hardened retaining insert united to said seal to present a flat riding surface, said elastomeric material supporting said insert on its radially outer and innersurfaces and resiliently: supporting and spacing said insertfrom said shell, said seal having an interference fit within said shell, and a plurality v of elongated rollers between said insert and a depending flange at a second axial location on said shell, said elastomeric material being of greater cross section than said insert and providing a thick cushion'to thereby absorb misalignment forces.

8. The bearing of claim 7 in which the seal body has a yieldable deflectable address at its lower end opposite said insert.

9. The bearing of claim 7 including a plurality of elongate rollers having ends riding against said insert.

10. The bearing of claim 7 in which said insert is L-shaped, said rollers being guided by said insert.

11. The 'bearing of claim 10 and including a roller cage which pilots on the arm of the said L-shaped insert.

H References Cited UNITED. STATES PATENTS 3,348,886 10/1967 'Schaefiler et al. 308187.2

FRED C. MATIERN, 111., Primary Examiner FRANK SUSKO, Assistant Examiner 

